Millions targeted for Willets Point infrastructure

The city’s Economic Development Corporation said $100 million in funding has been allocated for 14 capital projects in Queens, including off-site infrastructure for a mixed-use development planned for Willets Point in Flushing, EDC said in a statement today.

Other projects slated to receive EDC funds include transportation infrastructure for downtown Flushing and Jamaica as well as streetscape improvements in College Point.

The city did not include itemized costs for each project; however, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released a list of potential project costs to The Real Deal. The Willets Point infrastructure project was priced at $15.5 million, and consulting expenses for an environmental impact statement and preliminary design work at the 60-acre site had a cost of $6 million.

The $100 million in project funding was originally going to be paid for by the Port Authority, which pledged to spend that amount when it renegotiated its Queens airport lease in 2004. However, the projects were never carried out.

The city took over the $100 million Port Authority obligation in exchange for 30 acres in Hunters Point South, which had been owned by the multi-state authority but was transferred to the city in May. The city is planning a middle-income housing development for Hunters Point South with a total of about 5,000 units.